Conforming shoe construction using gels and method of making the same
First Claim
1. A foot conforming member for a shoe that conforms to at least one contour of a foot when the shoe is worn by an individual, wherein said foot conforming member is disposed in said shoe in a location adjacent to the contour of the foot and includes a temperature-responsive gel composition which:
- a. is in a liquid state at a first temperature when the foot conforming member is not adjacent to the individual'"'"'s foot, so that when the conforming member initially contacts the foot the liquid flows to conform to the contour of the foot, andb. is in a gel state at a second temperature that remains substantially conformed to the contour of the individual'"'"'s foot,wherein the gel composition changes between one state and the other due to heat from the individual'"'"'s foot when inserted into the shoe.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A shoe that conforms to foot contours and provides cushioning is comprised of a shoe sole and a shoe upper attached to the shoe sole. The shoe upper is comprised of an outer layer, an inner layer and a conforming layer therebetween, wherein a first portion of the conforming layer is comprised of environmentally-responsive gel. The environmentally-responsive gel is a temperature-responsive gel that will react to the heat emanating from a foot inserted into the shoe to express a liquid.
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Citations
46 Claims
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1. A foot conforming member for a shoe that conforms to at least one contour of a foot when the shoe is worn by an individual, wherein said foot conforming member is disposed in said shoe in a location adjacent to the contour of the foot and includes a temperature-responsive gel composition which:
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a. is in a liquid state at a first temperature when the foot conforming member is not adjacent to the individual'"'"'s foot, so that when the conforming member initially contacts the foot the liquid flows to conform to the contour of the foot, and b. is in a gel state at a second temperature that remains substantially conformed to the contour of the individual'"'"'s foot, wherein the gel composition changes between one state and the other due to heat from the individual'"'"'s foot when inserted into the shoe. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A foot conforming member for a shoe that conforms to foot contours when the shoe is worn by the individual and provides cushioning comprising:
a first gel of temperature-responsive flowable material which has a changing degree of flowability in response to temperature changes to which it is subjected from an individual'"'"'s foot which is inserted into the shoe, wherein the material is in a liquid state at a first temperature so that the liquid flows to conform to the contour of the foot, the material is in a gel state at a second temperature different from the first temperature, and wherein the material changes between the liquid and gel states due to the heat from the individual'"'"'s foot inserted into the shoe. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
- 41. A foot conforming member for a shoe that conforms to foot contours when the shoe is worn by an individual, wherein said foot conforming member is positioned to correspond to a first contoured surface of the individual'"'"'s foot and includes in a first area of the shoe, a first gel composition which is temperature-responsive and is in a liquid state at a first temperature so that the liquid flows to conform to the contour of the foot, and is in a gel state at a second temperature different from the first temperature, wherein the first gel composition changes between the liquid and gel states due to heat from the individual'"'"'s foot inserted into the shoe.
Specification